Join the Conversation

Tim Sullivan: Tiger's shrinking shadow hangs over PGA

6:38 p.m. EDT July 19, 2014

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 10: Tiger Woods of the United States catches a ball during a practice round prior to the start of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2013 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)(Photo: Andrew Redington Getty Images)

In terms of television ratings, the most significant stroke of the British Open may have been the last of the 77 Tiger Woods struck on Friday.

That 6-foot birdie putt made the difference between Woods making the cut and missing it and, history tells us, between casual golf fans tuning in and tuning out.

No other athlete moves the Nielsens more reliably or inflicts so much damage in absentia. No other golfer matters so much to so many, even when he falls so far behind as to necessitate a search party.

Less than three weeks before the PGA Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club, the 38-year-old Woods is playing as you might expect of a man less than four months removed from back surgery. He stands 19 shots behind Rory McIlroy entering Sunday's final round at Royal Liverpool, which leaves him the same chance of claiming the Claret Jug as Pete Best has of rejoining the Beatles.

Yet if Tiger Woods is no longer the most invincible player on the planet, he remains the most intriguing and his presence the surest sign of a tournament's prosperity.

"People are genuinely interested," said Craig Barry, senior vice president of Turner Sports. "Is he going to come out and show us lightning in a bottle, the Tiger of old? ... Or is he (merely) going to be competitive with the rest of the field? That bit of unknown about Tiger is what is compelling for fans."

More than six years since Woods limped to his last major championship title at the 2008 U.S. Open, his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' standards has been slowed by surgeries, scandal and a new generation of skilled rivals. Ten times the PGA Tour's leading money winner, Woods has played so little and so ineffectively this year that he currently ranks No. 201 in earnings.

His mystique, however, is mostly intact from his competitive peak.

Woods' absence from the Masters contributed to that tournament's lowest television ratings since 1993, and the U.S. Open experienced a similar slide without him. Within a day of his April announcement that he would miss the Masters, Stubhub experienced a 22.5 percent drop in ticket prices.

"There's no athlete in the world who affects prices more than Tiger Woods," Stubhub spokesman Cameron Papp said. "As for the PGA Championship, right now it's a little early to tell. The average ticket price is higher than last year's, but it doesn't seem to be moving much now.

"But if he is indeed playing, and if he's sticking around (in contention), it's going to go through the roof."

Woods' drawing power is so potent that tournaments can succeed or fail based on whether he shows up. When The International was dropped from the PGA Tour in 2007, founder Jack Vickers attributed the decision to the tournament's inability to keep corporate sponsorship for an event Woods routinely skipped. The Colorado tournament was replaced on the PGA schedule by the Washington-based AT&T National, hosted by the Tiger Woods Foundation.

As the last leg of golf's grand slam, the PGA Championship is not as dependent on individual players as is the typical tour stop. PGA Championship director Brett Sterba proudly points out that his tournament included 99 of the top 100 players each of the past two years and that the only unsold tickets remaining for next month's event are for practice sessions and the first round.

"We did so much of the heavy lifting early that at this point we don't feel this major impact (if Woods plays)," Sterba said. "I think it will certainly impact ratings if he does play. There's no question about that. (But) Our broadcast partners are going to put on the same PGA Championship without any particular player."

Recent results would suggest McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson would be among the strongest contenders at Valhalla. History, however, says the public will be preoccupied with another player.

Among the Craigslist ads for PGA Championship tickets is a listing offering weeklong Wanamaker Club packages at $800 apiece or $1,500 for the pair. It advises interested parties to pounce:

"TIGER WILL BE THERE, so these won't last long."

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, by email at tsullivan@courier-journal.com, and on Twitter @TimSullivan714.